How to Stop Woodpeckers from Damaging Your House

At a very young age Connie learned from her Grandma Pearl to observe and love backyard birds. She stills feeds and studies them everyday.

hungry male baby downy woodpecker | Source

Why Do Woodpeckers Peck on Houses?

If you have ever been awakened by a woodpecker banging away at your house, you know the frustration that can bring. We have a metal chimney pipe that apparently makes an amazing sound to a woodpecker. Every spring they enjoy hammering away at it. I don’t mind that so much as I do when they decide to use my wood siding for their rat-tat-tatting!

First, you must realize that woodpeckers are not damaging your house or interrupting your sleep because they have a personal vendetta against you. There’s a reason behind this apparent assault on your senses, especially early in the morning. In fact, there could be several reasons. Once you know them, you will be better able to apply the proper solution.

young female hairy woodpecker | Source

Why Are Woodpeckers Trying to Destroy My House and/or My Sanity?

To Attract a MateTo Establish a TerritoryTo Make a Cavity for a Nest

To Find Food

Woodpeckers Have No Songs to Sing

Since woodpeckers do not have a song to sing that will capture the heart of a prospective mate, they do what comes naturally—they become hammerheads! A woodpecker has a reinforced skull that also has been outfitted with essential padding to cushion its brain. Pecking away at 20 times per second you can easily see how they could give themselves a major migraine, if not a concussion, without such natural protection.

Their natural targets are trees, of course, but any tall object will do. It doesn’t even need to be wood, as my metal chimney pipe can attest. Utility poles are another good drumming surface. This banging sound will echo and be heard for very long distances. If there are potential mates around, this form of communication is no fail.

Pileated Woodpecker Call

Woodpeckers Do Have Calls

Woodpeckers do have calls that they use along with the drumming on surfaces. Those calls consist of ‘pit-pit’ or ‘chick-chick’, sometimes high pitched, depending upon the circumstances. I have a red-bellied woodpecker that comes swooping in on the bird feeders, while uttering its loud and high-pitched ‘chick-chic’ call. It’s like he’s saying “gang way, here I come”! This strategy is very effective as all the other birds scatter before it.

Another very important reason for woodpeckers to bang on surfaces is to establish their territory.

They fly from tree to tree; hammering on each one to make sure any would-be interlopers know they are not to cross certain lines. Each tree will make a different sound which will create a kind of musical chart, if you will. This chart is revisited daily, often many times a day especially in the spring when territories and mates are most important.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are natural cavity nesters.

The wood on your house is no different to this bird than a tree would be, so it is a potential nesting spot. With all the urban development and loss of natural habitat, woodpeckers take what they can get in order to survive. Normally a dead tree or ‘snag’ would serve this bird’s purpose very well. However, most people don’t like to have unsightly, and perhaps dangerous, dead trees around their property. Well you can see the problems arise, as always, when humans and animals are forced into the same habitat.

Food sources like insects and their larvae reside in wood, even sometimes in your wood siding.

If a woodpecker continues to peck at the same spot, especially when it isn’t springtime, then you may have an infestation. These birds can sense the vibrations bugs and their babies set up in the wood. Equipped with barbed tongues up to 4” long, woodpeckers are able to reach into holes or under bark and easily latch onto their meals. Continual drumming in the same spot should have you consulting the yellow pages for a professional exterminator. At the very least they can determine if carpenter bees or some other insects are indeed present in your wood. In that case, you have the woodpecker to thank for the alert!

Okay, so now we know why these drummers do what they do, what can we do to stop them?

These are my recommendations for natural and non-toxic remedies to your woodpecker problem:

Depending upon where on your house the damage is occurring, try a natural non-toxic spray repellent. These repellents taste and smell bad to a woodpecker.

2. Again depending on the position of the damage and how easily accessible it is for you, there are netting products that can be draped across the area in question.

3. Consider installing a woodpecker nesting box right over the place that is being damaged. Consult a bird identification guide to determine what size nesting box would be appropriate.

Click thumbnail to view full-size

adult female hairy woodpecker | Source

back of downy woodpecker | Source

Quite a difference in size between this red-bellied woodpecker and the much smaller gold finch! | Source

Where I live, there are 3 different woodpeckers that come to my bird feeders year round: hairy, downy and red-bellied. I use a particular pneumonic to help me remember which is which between the hairy and downy woodpeckers, because they both have the same black and white markings; the males both have a red patch on either the back or top of their heads; but are different sizes. That is: hairy=huge compared to downy, which is dainty.

The red-bellied woodpecker has black and white on its wings, red on its head and the back of its neck, and a hint of red on its stomach; and it is large. All woodpeckers have different nest box needs.

4. This never fails for me. Add a suet feeder and keep it filled year round. They now have no-melt suet, which is safe for use in warmer weather. Magically my woodpecker woes disappear when I supply them with suet. A jelly feeder and/or mealworm feeder never hurts either. Woodpeckers really do have a sweet tooth and can taste sweetness. They regularly visit my oriole nectar feeder and the hummer feeder that has a larger perching area.

5. As a last resort you can hang shiny mylar strips near the area where woodpeckers are pecking. Shiny objects that move with the wind unpredictably will help deter their efforts and encourage them to move on. Those fake owls and hawks—save your money--woodpeckers soon learn they are not real.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES KILL A WOODPECKER, NO MATTER HOW ANNOYING THEY ARE. ALL WOODPECKERS ARE PROTECTED BY LAW, AND YOU WILL FACE STIFF FINES AND POSSIBLE JAIL TIME!

Poplars are popular with Woodpeckers because of the soft wood. | Source

pileated woodpecker | Source

I know that my woodpeckers are constantly patrolling the woods nearby. In this way they are protecting the environment from onslaughts of unwanted insect infestations. Leaving at least ten dead trees per acre is advised to help woodpeckers with their natural habitat. Living from 4 years up to an astonishing 11 years, they can eliminate a lot of bugs in their lifetimes! So I can live with my springtime chimney pipe concerts!

Insecticide use is one of the largest threats to our woodpecker populations because they eliminate their natural food sources. The other problem is loss of dead trees in which to nest and forage for food. In my woods I have many poplar trees. These are beloved by the largest woodpecker in North America—the Pileated Woodpecker.

The males arrive early in the spring and begin ‘calling’ for a mate. They don’t have a song, per se, but a very distinctive call. If you checked out the first video above, you'll know exactly what I mean! It is said that 'Woody Woodpecker' of cartoon fame was loosely modeled after a pileated woodpecker. I have also heard that the famous cartoon Woody's crazy call was inspired by the pileated woodpecker. I just think they are a very cool looking and sounding bird!

Questions & Answers

Questions must be on-topic, written with proper grammar usage, and understandable to a wide audience.

Do You Have Any Other Natural Ways to Stop Woodpecker Damage?

No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.

sending

Mary jo

7 months ago

We have been in our home 8 yrs and are surrounded by 100 yr old trees... this woodpecker has taken a Liking to the metal chimney in our bedroom and seems to always be 10 minutes ahead of our alarm ....very very frustrating. Since it is a chimney it’s a bit more challenging to figure out a strategy and how to distract .. Any recommendations? By the way he also moved to the family room Chimmney just about the time I sit down and watch a TV program on the weekends

Gayle

12 months ago

I always have suet and they still peck at my house. Someone once told me that if you put fake woodpeckers in strategic locations, they will stay away. Is this true? I can't find any information about this. Thank you!

Al

23 months ago

There is a red bellied female on my suet feeder right now. Suet has kept us free from damage to the house. Too bad it doesn't work on red squirrels

Debbie

2 years ago

A woodpecker has done great damage to my cedar playset. Have to have several of post replaced. I wrapped foil around legs and they still manage to make damage. Have had playset for 6 years this year first time having problems.

AUTHOR

Connie Smith

5 years agofrom Southern Tier New York State

pstraubie, thank you for your interesting comments. I'm very glad your woodpeckers behave themselves! So far this season none of mine have used my metal chimney, which is nice. I can hear a pileated woodpecker in the woods around me every day, but so far have not caught sight of him or her. My red-bellied woodpeckers use a very tall dead tree as a sounding board and mate caller!

Thanks so much for your visit and for the Angels, my friend ;) Pearl

Patricia Scott

5 years agofrom sunny Florida

This is very interesting, Pearl...The woodpecker photos are gorgeous. I have one who comes to visit a dead tree in my yard. He doesn't come to often and doesn't stay long. thank goodness I do not have a problem with him pecking on my house. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Angels are on the way :) ps

AUTHOR

Connie Smith

6 years agofrom Southern Tier New York State

Hi Deb! What a clever solution! I love it. We have to get creative when it comes to wildlife, don't we? Thanks for stopping by, and for the great comment.

AUTHOR

Connie Smith

6 years agofrom Southern Tier New York State

Hi Eddy! So glad you stopped by and commented on the woodpeckers. I really do enjoy these birds because I know they are taking care of all those bugs that do damage! I'm glad you enjoyed this, and thank you so much for the voted and share. They are all very much appreciated.

Pearl

AUTHOR

Connie Smith

6 years agofrom Southern Tier New York State

Hi Irish! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. Hey, ya know it could be the very same little guy. I guess they get tired of pecking away at wood --everybody needs a change now and then! Or maybe the lady woodpeckers really love that heavy metal music? It's always fun when you visit! Pearl

Shining Irish Eyes

6 years agofrom Upstate, New York

Great job Grandma Pearl. As you know, we are neighbors and I wonder if the same little fella who has decided to call our laundry pole home as well.

I guess they are appropriately named huh?

Deb Hirt

6 years agofrom Stillwater, OK

I had a woodpecker that used to drum on the side of my house in Maine. I gave him a metal pie plate with foam padding. He was happy and so was I.

Eiddwen

6 years agofrom Wales

I have one of these beautiful birds visiting our bird table and this wonderful hub has taught me so many facts I didn't know.

Brilliant work as always .

Here's to so many more hubs for us both to share on here.

I vote across(minus funny) up/share.

Eddy.

AUTHOR

Connie Smith

6 years agofrom Southern Tier New York State

Hi Billy! Thanks for the kind words and great comment. So glad your woodpecker is behaving himself, so far. You always manage to provide me with a good chuckle, which is most appreciated this morning! Thanks for stopping by and commenting, my friend. Pearl

Bill Holland

6 years agofrom Olympia, WA

Great information! We have one who has decided our yard is his yard, but so far he has left the house alone; he's much happier with the fir tree, thankfully. If he should change his diet I'll be giving you a call. :)

Connect with us

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, dengarden.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)